Former NFL cheerleader pleads guilty to rape

GEORGETOWN, Del. – A former Baltimore Ravens cheerleader pleaded guilty Tuesday to raping a 15-year-old boy at a vacation rental home in Delaware last summer.

Wearing a pained and anxious expression as the entered the courtroom, Molly Shattuck, 48, told a judge she understood that her plea to a single felony count of fourth-degree rape means she could face up to 15 years in prison. Shattuck, who will be sentenced Aug. 21, also will have to register as a sex offender.

Under Delaware law, fourth-degree rape includes sexual intercourse or sexual penetration with a person under the age of 16. The offense does not carry any mandatory prison time, but the presumptive sentence is up to 30 months behind bars.

Shattuck entered the plea just days before her scheduled trial on two counts of the more serious charge of third-degree rape, four counts of unlawful sexual contact, and three counts of providing alcohol to minors.

Shattuck refused to answer reporters' question as she was hustled out of the courthouse and into a waiting SUV.

The victim, a classmate of one of Shattuck's children at McDonogh School in Owings Mills, Maryland, told police last September that Shattuck began an inappropriate relationship with him near Baltimore, and that it culminated with sexual activity at a vacation rental home in Bethany Beach over Labor Day weekend.

The indictment alleged that Shattuck provided alcohol to three boys under the legal drinking age on Aug. 30 and Aug. 31 of last year, and that she had sexual contact with one boy on or about Aug. 31.

Shattuck was divorced in November from Mayo Shattuck, former CEO of Baltimore-based Constellation Energy Nuclear Group and current chairman of Chicago-based Exelon Corp. Exelon, which has electric and gas utilities in Maryland, Illinois, and Pennsylvania, now owns Constellation.

In 2005, Shattuck became the oldest NFL cheerleader in history up to that time, when the Ravens selected her for the squad on her first tryout. She cheered for two years and was a part-time coach for six more years.

Shattuck also has worked as a fitness consultant and advocate, publishing a book called "Vibrant Living" last year.

After her arrest, Shattuck resigned as a board member of the Baltimore School for the Arts, a public high school.